I was recently contacted by a woman named Debbie, who owns a sweet site called Work Your Art, asking if she could interview me for her Artist Spotlight series. The site is created specifically for creatives -- artists, designers, illustrators, etc. -- who are interested in learning more about marketing their work, how to use different social media platforms and various other online marketing tools. If you have an Etsy shop, for example, she has so much information for you (I do not have an Etsy shop, but if I did, I'm sure I'd gratefully dive into her advice)! There is so much to learn, in fact, that I've barely been able to scratch the surface other than to absorb a few of her free "Work it Weekly" tips and post my blog images to Pinterest (which has made a traffic difference here, amazingly).

Anyway, the original interview can be read at her site, or below. And it's at this point that I'd like to quick talk about voice ... not artistic voice, which is something I mention in the interview. What I'm talking about here is that mild embarrassment coupled with outright alarm that you feel when you hear your recorded voice played back to you. It's a different voice, right? That's not what I sound like. Is that really what I sound like?

So Debbie, has a very bubbly, life-of-the-party voice to her writing. Her whole site feels like this. Just based on her voice I know right away that she's the hostess who will meet me at the door barefoot with a toe ring and a perfect pedicure, wearing a gauzy floral maxi dress and holding a glass pitcher of sangria and a wooden spoon, while an entire Brazilian-themed pool party is in full swing out on the patio.

I, however, based on my voice in this interview, have clearly gotten lost on my way to the party (did I know it was a party?). I've arrived late, am wearing about 6 shades of black (hey, that sweater description was "heathered charcoal," okay?), sweaty boots and am now brooding in the corner with a glass of red wine (which will give me a headache later, oh, why do I drink it?), I don't know anyone and the conga line has left me in the dust. And my hair looks greasy.

I re-read this interview and want to say: Geez, lighten UP, Meissner. What a stick in the mud.

Obviously, I need to get out of the house more.

Photography, Brian Adams

Hello there! What's your name and where do you live? My name is Amy Meissner. I am an artist and writer living in Anchorage, Alaska.

What do you create? Are you currently selling (and if so, where can we find it)? My writerly form is memoir and can be read via my blog, “Spontaneous Combustion” (www.amymeissner.com/blog). I have been a designer, painter and children’s book illustrator, but the current vehicle for my visual art is based on the quilt form. I sell through galleries (currently in Alaska only) and sales inquiries can be made directly through my website.

How would you describe your work? I explore traditional sewing, and handwork techniques in a contemporary context, often drawn to the quilt for its ability to evoke a powerful narrative response for the viewer. A quilt is warm, nurturing and safe; my work explores fear, vulnerability and the fragility of family and childhood, using text and found objects to convey layers of meaning. This art form is the culmination of my life experiences -- painter, seamstress, pattern maker, illustrator, writer, mother, woman. I am reverent about the historic and handmade, and constantly wonder where these things fit into contemporary society lest they be forgotten completely.

Photography, Brian Adams

Do you have a lot of competition in your field? What do you do to stand out from the crowd? It seems to me that there are a lot of quilters, a lot of “art quilters,” a lot of artists and, of course, everyone is a writer. I try not to see others as competition because this will have the opposite effect on me than I think it should (paralyzing, not motivating). Instead, I see these overlapping circles as community. I’m not creating work that I’ve seen other people create and I don’t intend to. I’m very focused on my path, perhaps to my detriment (with the blinders and everything), but this has enabled me to work more efficiently for now. I have young children and there are days when I get no work done at all. At. All. I don’t have time to ponder or worry too much about competition when I’m hell-bent on my own production and the laundry and the dinner and the lunches and the laundry. Did I mention the laundry?

This is not to say that I’m not aware of what others are producing. I’m quite cognizant of other artists and their directions. I just work hard to not get swept up in trends or envy and I work deeply with the living questions that I have as an artist and a human.

What is the best compliment you’ve ever gotten about your work? I received two descriptive comments about my blog recently — “meditative” and “nourishing.” In a sea of tossed-off blog posts (and I’m a latecomer to the blogging scene), I really strive to produce well-written and thoughtful work. If it’s not what I would be interested in reading, I don’t post. I’ll skip a week. I can’t tell you how many people have “stumbled” upon my site and expressed surprise at what they found there.

With regards to my artwork, I have to give a bit of history because the biggest complement I ever received was the catalyst for this current work. In 2013, I entered a competitive biennial juried show at the Anchorage Museum with a quilt called “Spontaneous Combustion.” It featured hand appliqued text on vintage domestic linens, hand embroidery and hand quilting. It took 3 years to complete, working on and off and around babies and diapers, and repeated the question, “Mama, what in this house can catch on fire?” in the same haunting way my son asked when he was 4 years old. The piece was a time capsule of my little family, from a period when I was absolutely in despair that I would never create art ever again, that I would never bemyself again. This piece was my own spontaneous combustion as a mother, artist and woman. Reinvention.

It was awarded the Juror’s Choice Award and the museum subsequently purchased the piece for their permanent collection. This was more than a compliment, it was confirmation.

Photography, Brian Adams

What usually inspires you to start creating something new? My journey as a woman and a mother is the well that will never run dry. I listen to my children constantly, I observe them as they receive the world with wonder and I try to do the same or at least imagine what this was like once. I ask a lot of questions of myself and of the world and I read a lot, everything from young adult fiction to the New York Times to memoir to theory to the Rescue Princesses series. (Okay, that last one was so not my first choice).Who is your favorite artist? What do you like about him/her? I have admired Dorothy Caldwell’s work for years. Her textile work is vast and expansive, filled with the marks of presence and place. Mastery.

What kind of marketing are you currently doing for your creative business? Is it working out? I am midway through an Artist Fellowship grant from the Rasmuson Foundation, which is allowing me time to produce art for a whole glorious year. I am doing the bare minimum in terms of marketing (a website, blog, Facebook Page, Pinterest…). I know this isn’t enough in the long term, but it’s what I can handle right now and still fiercely protect the time it takes to generate this kind of slow work, much of it done by hand. So, it’s working out, but just for now.

What is the number one tip you have for creatives in your niche that are just starting out? Aside from the obvious “continue to develop your craft,” I suggest you identify your voice and hone your sense of place. Here’s what I mean by this:

I’m no expert at anything other than The Not Knowing, but therein lies my voice. And it is authoritative in that I am continually seeking clarity, making connections, applying experience and history to try and arrive at answers. When people feel a connection to a piece of writing or artwork — whether based on beauty, personal history or The Not Knowing — they do so because of the emotional truth of a piece. This creates the imagery that will not leave their minds.

Fourteen years in Alaska has done nothing more than create an even greater sense of awe for the vastness, sharp beauty and breathlessness of living here. My sense of place can be described as feeling lost beside that which towers overhead or stretches deep beneath the feet. It is fear-based and exquisite and fragile and never-ending. This informs the concepts I’m drawn to in my work.

What are the things you feel yourself struggling with? Where to begin … is the work good enough? Am I supposed to be doing something else? Am I working enough hours? Am I neglecting my family? Should I be pushing harder? Am I ever going to make any money? Am I burning dinner again? Do I have to go shovel the driveway yet? Can you please get yourself your own cup of water?

Do you set regular goals for yourself and your business? What are you currently aiming for? I do set goals. One blog post a week (realistic) and 25-30 hours of studio time (unrealistic with children, but sometimes it happens),100% sales (since we’re being unrealistic and I’m all about feeling disappointed…), balancing the types of juried shows I enter so they aren’t all textile themed (realistic), building a body of work towards solo show efforts (realistic, I have one in June, 2015).

Photography, Brian Adams

What is something you’d still like to learn (a skill, a topic) with regards to creative entrepreneurship? I would eventually like representation outside of Alaska, but this means exploring methods of finding the right galleries and making those vital connections virtually since I’m limited by distance. This is about 10% research-based and 90% finding the confidence and assertiveness to sell myself.

Any other thoughts or stories you’d like to share?Just some advice I think about for myself:

Find your teachers, find your peers. Don’t get comfortable with your work. Edit. Reinvent yourself — many times if you need to — and know that The Not Knowing is a great and real gift.

Oh, the party ... I am so with you in the corner with the red wine and the wrong outfit. But what I am saying as we talk is, "Wow, you are really on your way to somewhere great. Just be sure to enjoy the ride."
Best wishes for your continued success ... and thanks for the pointer to Dorothy Caldwell's work.

Fabulous interview, thanks for sharing both voices! I think many of us can relate :-) Juggling the kids and art is definitely a challenge, I remember those years well. Fortunately I was never compelled to think trying to maintain a clean house was more important than making the art.

Reply

Dohnn

1/19/2015 11:10:07 am

Funny, I think of you as the hostess with the Sangria and wooden spoon!